Past Episodes

The Charcot Award recognizes lifetime achievement in outstanding research into the understanding and treatment of MS. My guest is Professor Catherine Lubetzki, this year's recipient of the Charcot Award. Professor Lubetzki is being recognized for her very significant contributions to better understanding the underlying disease processes of MS, and her groundbreaking work in furthering our understanding of demylenation and remylenation. Professor Lubetzki is a professor of Neurology at Sorbonne ...

Welcome to Episode 100! In this special episode, we're talking with Jodi Michele Cooley, the winner of our "Be Our Special Guest on Episode 100" contest! At the age of 7, Jodi became an MS caregiver. And at the age of 34, she received her own MS diagnosis. In one way or another, MS has almost always been a part of Jodi's life. And yet, she is the very definition of the word "resilience." We're also re-visiting some of the best moments from some of our most popular interviews. You'll hear about ...

My guest is Jenny Freeman, Professor of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the University of Plymouth, in the United Kingdom. Professor Freeman's research has appeared in more than 150 journals and publications. And she's the co-author of Multiple Sclerosis Care -- A Practical Manual, the reference book for all aspects of MS care. We're going to be talking with Professor Freeman about the just-published results of a clinical trial that I think will add a very effective component to physical reh...

Applying for social security disability benefits can be difficult. It's a stressful and challenging process with an outcome that seems fraught with uncertainty. My guest, Jamie Hall, has represented social security disability claimants before administrative law judges and the Appeals Council in 24 different states. He is also a strong supporter of the National MS Society, where he's conducted numerous seminars on social security disability issues. Jamie is a member of the MS Society's 2010 Lead...

My guests this week are 2 exceptional MS warriors, Mike Zimits and Cat Tsigakos. When Mike was diagnosed with MS, he decided he could best help himself by getting into shape, so he got on a bike. And then he convinced his friend's sister, Catherine, to get on a bike. Cat was serving as her brother's caregiver after he was diagnosed with progressive MS. So these 2 people, who had each been affected differently by MS, went from being biking newbies to avid cyclists -- even taking on several stage...

Do you ever wonder how or why your neurologist recommends one disease-modifying therapy instead of another? For some people, their first disease-modifying therapy is a mild drug with few side effects. For others, their first disease-modifying therapy might be a more high-powered drug that carries the risk of more possible side effects. But how do neurologists really know when it's appropriate to use one specific disease-modifying therapy or even when it's appropriate to switch to another? My gu...

How do you adjust every aspect of your relationship when the partner you've known seems to be vanishing right before your eyes, yet they're still very much there? If you're a caregiver for someone with progressive MS, or any chronic illness, it's very likely that you're living with the trauma of ambiguous loss. My guest is Dr. Pauline Boss, who not only coined the phrase ambiguous loss, but has spent her career teaching university students, practicing as a clinician, and training family therapi...

This week, we're talking about shady stem cell clinics and their shady clinical trials. We'll tell you about a study that makes a connection between stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease, and a research team that may have identified the possible genetic causes of MS. My guest is Dr. Laura Rice, an expert in rehabilitation science and technology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne. Dr. Rice's focus is on maximizing the quality of life and community participation among wheel...

Stem Cells are in the news, and we're talking about the U.S. District Court decision that will impact hundreds of stem cell clinics in the United States and the FDA's ability to regulate them. We'll also share two breakthroughs in stem cell research that will likely impact the future of stem cell therapy. My guest on the podcast is Dr. Karen Lee, the Vice-President of Research at the MS Society of Canada. Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, and the MS Society of Canada has r...

MS research scientist Dr. Jeffrey Huang is this year's recipient of the Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Award from the National MS Society. On this week's podcast, we're talking with Dr. Huang about his potentially groundbreaking research, and we'll even ask him how one becomes an MS research scientist. We're also talking about the lectures, presentations, and education sessions that took place last week at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting. We'll explain why we don'...